Protesters outside the Duma in Moscow on July 19
MOSCOW -- Some 200 protesters gathered outside the Russian State Duma on July 19 to challenge proposed legislation to increase the country's retirement age, as lawmakers prepared to vote for the bill in its first reading.
Among the protestes were the leader of the Communists of Russia party, Maksim Suraikin; Yabloko's leading member, Sergei Mitrokhin; and the coordinator of the Levy Front (Left Front) movement, Sergei Udaltsov.
The protesters were holding posters saying "Pension Reform Is Genocide," "Putin, How Can We Reach Pension Age?" and other slogans.
The government's plan to raise the retirement age have prompted protests across Russia in recent weeks.
Under the proposal submitted by the Russian government on June 16, the retirement-age increases would be gradual and begin in 2019. The bill proposes raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 by 2028 for men and from 55 to 63 for women by 2034.
The increases -- the first since the Soviet era -- would come in a country where life expectancy is relatively low and the pension age is lower than in any developed country.
The plan has angered many Russians, with nearly 2.8 million people signing a petition against the reform on change.org by July 1.
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